


Unto Devotion

by lilithiumwords



Series: Gods on High [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Demigods, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13629036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords
Summary: Yuuri has devoted himself to one person -- one god only, and always, he waits.





	Unto Devotion

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for YOI Mythology Week 2018, Day 6: Demigods & Mythological Creatures.
> 
> Thanks to @miss-meri for betaing!

The temple is grand, one of the largest Yuuri has ever seen, yet no attendants wait by the doors, broken as they are. The only light is from Yuuri's lantern, casting long shadows against the walls wherever tall columns rise up to the ceiling. Pieces of colored glass have been pressed into the marble of the columns and walls, carving out intricate scenes of a beautiful silver-haired god smiling down at his people.

Once, this temple would have bustled with worshipers, but no more. The empty metropolis that spills across the valley, over which the temple looks from under heavy wisteria trees, has long been destroyed by the greed of men who sought to plunder and rape.

Everything was destroyed, and still the war rages on, centuries later.

Yuuri's ancestors survived the fall of the city, but they moved away, hoping for shelter in the next country before it, too, fell. Only Yuuri has returned, seeking the temple of his fallen god, long after the last of his family gave up on their worship. He has taken refuge in a small, mostly intact building at the foot of the hill, tending to the bruises on his feet and back each day with some of the echinacea and comfrey that grow in the woods.

His scars no longer hurt him, but Yuuri keeps them covered anyway, not wanting to look at them. It has been months since he escaped his torturers, soldiers of the enemy army that still ransacks the countryside, and Yuuri does not want to think about them -- even though he knows they are coming.

After his escape, Yuuri wandered for weeks, lost in his pain and trauma, until he remembered an old saying from one of the books that his family had to burn, just days before Yuuri's village was invaded and he was taken as a slave.

_'His temple stands where the wild roses bloom.'_ Only one place in the empire still grows wild roses, and there Yuuri traveled, as carefully as he could. He lost his shoes to a river and his dagger to bandits, but still Yuuri walked, until he found what he was searching for.

Thus he found the Temple of Viktor, dedicated to the once-god who walked amongst mortals. Yuuri never stopped believing in him. Every day he has prayed to Viktor since he was a child, and here in Viktor's temple, the home that the demigod's mortal kin created for him, Yuuri feels his presence the strongest.

After taking in the sight of the temple, still beautiful even in its decay, Yuuri walks to the center of the floor, where a statue of Viktor stands tall, holding a bouquet of roses in one hand and a sword in the other. The gold has long been stripped away, but what little Yuuri has read on the temple suggests that this entire room was once covered in gold, made from tributes to Viktor's power and beauty.

Some say he was a war god, fighting his enemies until they fell, vanquished. Others say he was a god of love, blessing unions and intimacy with his touch. Others still say he was a god of the home, and that when he walked the earth, roses bloomed under his feet. They say that his voice could make a mortal tremble, either in fear or lust -- sometimes both.

He was the child of a god and a queen, and he was fated to save the world.

Then, one day, Viktor vanished, and all hope in him faded, but for a few families who stayed true. Yuuri may as well be the last of Viktor's worshipers, alone in his devotion.

Yuuri doesn't mind that much. He doesn't want to share Viktor with anyone else, really.

Yuuri smiles a little, glancing up at the demigod's visage, and focuses on his task. He busies his hands with familiar motions, cutting an apple in half and spreading the seeds over a small bowl of dirt, absently shaking the juice off his fingers. One red rose, one of the hundreds that bloom in the woods that surround the temple, follows the seeds, and at last Yuuri pours a thin measure of oil over the offering, bringing the heavy scent of almonds.

Then he tosses a match into the bowl, lighting it all ablaze.

At last Yuuri bows his head, as the offering burns and sends up curling smoke toward the ceiling. The statue stares over his head, the handsome features of a demigod long forgotten empty of emotion. Yet Yuuri feels the presence of his god as clearly as he feels his own breath, his own heartbeat.

"Viktor," Yuuri murmurs, then chokes on the next word of his prayer when he hears a boom in the distance. He twists to look nervously over his shoulder. The doors of the temple have long been destroyed, knocked off their hinges and left to rot, and so the valley can be seen over the cusp of the trees.

His heart seizes a little when he sees smoke on the horizon.

Quick as lightning, Yuuri blows out his lantern, the shining colors on the walls fading as the light goes out. He looks back at his meager offering and aches a little, wishing he had more time. He bows his head again, pressing his mouth against his fingers.

_Viktor, please come back. Please save us._

Another boom, and Yuuri breathes out, knowing he can wait no longer. He leans down to blow out the tiny fire, wishing he had more time to let it burn properly, but the soldiers will be here soon. If they find evidence of his offerings, they may damage the temple further, and Yuuri cannot let that happen. Better to let Viktor be miffed at him than let him get hurt.

A breeze ruffles his hair, and Yuuri goes still. In the quiet and darkness, something moves in front of him, shifting against old stone. Instead of smoke and almond oil, suddenly all Yuuri can smell is roses. He hears footsteps; bare feet against stone, each step measured and firm. A faint clink of a sword sliding into a hilt follows, alongside a low chuckle that brings tears to Yuuri's eyes.

"I don't think I will save everyone," says a deep voice, one Yuuri has never heard before, yet he knows intimately. "But you... my dear Yuuri," croons the voice, and a moment later, Yuuri feels a hand in his hair, stroking the dark strands back. "I will move the world to save you."

Yuuri lifts his head, not breathing. Standing above him is Viktor, _alive_ , his otherworldly blue eyes shining in the shadows. He is as beautiful as Yuuri always imagined him, and Yuuri cannot help but stare, awestruck. His god, come to walk amongst mortals again -- for _Yuuri_.

Viktor smiles at him, then holds out his hand. "Come, Yuuri. Let us save the world you love. That is my gift to you, darling," he says. After a long, aching moment, Yuuri reaches out to take his hand, letting Viktor lift him up with little effort. Yuuri hesitates only an instant before he steps forward into Viktor's arms. The sword and bouquet fall to their feet, as Viktor embraces him tightly.

"I waited," Yuuri whispers into Viktor's shoulder. "Years and years..."

"I know," Viktor murmurs, something dark and fierce touching his voice, promising retribution for the men who hurt Yuuri. "I made you wait too long. I am sorry, my Yuuri." His fingers touch the scars on Yuuri's back, hidden beneath a thin, ragged shirt. Yuuri can only shake his head.

"It doesn't matter. You're here."

"I am, and I will never leave you again."

For centuries afterward, stories are told of that day, of two men walking through an empty city with roses growing in their steps, hands entwined. One held a bouquet, and the other a golden blade which shone like fire as it tore through the armies of the empire which had imprisoned the people. Few survived that battle, and those who did carried the image in their hearts for the rest of their lives, fearing the two gods who walked the earth together.

**Author's Note:**

> Join me on [tumblr](http://amberstarfight.tumblr.com/) for ramblings and such! (*´♡`*)


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